Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 228: Apotheosis

Chapter 228: Apotheosis

Natasha stepped out of the Cathedral only to pause at its gates, quickly realizing something as she stared at the cityscape before her eyes.

Just like underground, the entire city was shrouded by thick clouds of darkness but surprisingly she could see just fine, almost like there was light.

Maybe it was because of this that she hadn’t noticed any discrepancies on her way over.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly ambled down the street, keeping a pace that wasn’t too fast nor too slow.

As she walked, she couldn’t help but notice just how empty the streets were now.

There were still a few pedestrians and even a few carriages but compared to what she remembered about BoneHaven... the real one, she knew this was a pathetic attempt at a recreation.

Feeling both disgust and contempt, she barely restrained herself, making sure not to draw the attention of the Whisperers to her.

With quick thinking, she decided to ponder other topics which caused her to wonder about the state of the others who had come in with them.

Were they still alive?... Or had they been devoured?

It caused Natasha distress, knowing that their conditions were up in the air but knowing how rushing could ruin things, she kept herself calm and continued leisurely before turning into another street.

Like that, she continued on her way, to her destination... the Central district.

***

The Mantle of Darkness floated in the space before Abraham, its inky blackness absorbing all forms of light about it and staining the world with its dark ambiance.

There was a deep silence in the half-complete temple as Abraham slowly reached out and skimmed the surface of the Mantle.

It rippled just like a clear lake, leaving Roland entranced by it.

Taking a moment to glance at Nadia, Abraham chuckled before he suddenly pushed his hand into the Mantle.

There was no protrusion nor was there a reaction this time.

It seemed more like he’d pushed his hands into the void, leaving no mark as he did so.

Then he began to speak, using devil tongue to incite the aether, to draw it to him.

It merely took a moment and in that brief space of time, the ritual began.

The aether was drawn to the Mantle, seemingly excited like a child that had seen its parent.

The aether grew subservient and continuously moved as Abraham wished.

He pulled out a crimson rock from his pocket and swallowed it without hesitation.

His eyes flashed a deep crimson before red veins began to appear all over his skin, swiftly connecting like branches of a larger whole.

Abraham let out a pained groan but regardless, he remained standing and his eyes remained full of life.

Pulling out his arm from the Mantle, a string of darkness connected to his finger appeared as he did so, a string which he pierced into his chest.

A ripple appeared on the Mantle again before Abraham began to assimilate with it.

His body quickly began to degrade, revealing what looked like a formless entity underneath but before the entity could be completely revealed, a red flash appeared and his body recovered instantaneously.

Nadia watched this before her lips parted. "So that’s why you needed the Blood God."

It would seem no matter the damage, Abraham would be able to instantly heal from it.

What a terrifying power indeed!

Acting as though he didn’t hear Nadia’s words, Abraham continued accepting the Mantle into his body as he pulled out another card.

At this point, the atmosphere in the temple had already begun to change with clouds appearing at the ceiling and the world about them seemingly darkening, as though all forms of light were being extinguished.

Nadia wondered if such an ability would plunge the world into darkness.

No, that was a foolish question... she shook her head.

It seemed they were wrong.

It had only been a few days but Abraham had escaped and was already carrying out the ascension ritual.

At this point, no one could stop him.

Nadia gritted her teeth but found herself unable to move.

Even the Devils within her had already given up hope.

All that was left was to watch the inevitable happen.

Then, she heard Abraham’s voice.

"Break."

***

It happened suddenly, before Natasha could reach the Central district, a beam of golden light that exuded warmth and much more shot out toward the sky.

She stared at the beautiful sight, unsure of what to make of it.

Before she could recover from the suddenness of the situation, something even crazier occurred.

The numerous Whisperers in BoneHaven rushed toward that light, their numbers enough to leave Natasha dizzy as they whizzed past her.

Barely recovering her composure, she dragged herself over to the central district only to suck in cold air at what lay ahead.

Rows and rows of Whisperers stood as guards around the light, ensuring that not even a fly went past, and at the center of this encirclement, there he stood.

Mr. Theodore Goldberg.

At that moment, he turned his head and their eyes met.

Natasha’s heart palpitated strongly.

***

Before Charlotte could make a move, a pillar of black light appeared and sent her flying with Alex following closely behind.

Despite being pure Yin, it held an unprecedented force that was difficult to describe.

It was beautiful and also quite scary.

Watching it move, Alex was reminded of a geyser but this one was continuous, slightly larger, and was black instead of white.

He got to his feet just as the shadows tried to conceal the path.

If he did nothing now, he’d lose sight of the pillar.

Its appearance meant that Abraham had most likely broken free of his constraints and had begun the ritual to become a True God.

It was now or never.

Gritting his teeth, he snapped and immediately floated into the sky with Charlotte in tow.

Watching as the Labyrinth covered up everything, Alex snorted.

There was no way he’d allow that to happen.

A moment later, he snapped his fingers and a white hole with a black circular line rotating about it appeared on his palm.

Then it fell.

Slowly but steadily, it soon arrived close to the altar, mostly because something was preventing the attack from directly entering the pillar of yin.

All it took was a moment and everything turned white.

The world shook and trembled with Charlotte staring at Alex’s side profile, her gaze filled with awe.